By Robert Morales - Abel Sanchez had been worried that the WBA would make his fighter - middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin - fight his mandatory defense against unknown Jarrod Fletcher of Australia on July 26 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Alas, the WBA this week agreed to let Golovkin bypass Fletcher so he can take on a more formidable opponent in former champion Daniel Geale, also of Australia, on that card that will be televised by HBO.

Sanchez, who trains the hard-hitting Golovkin (29-0, 26 KOs) out of his sprawling camp in Big Bear, Calif., is stoked about the way things turned out.

"Well, extremely happy," Sanchez said Wednesday via telephone. "I get the motivation out of Gennady."

Golovkin had little interest in facing Fletcher, Sanchez said.

"When they were talking about the other young man who is not quite ready - he may be one of these days, but now he's not - Gennady wasn't as motivated, wasn't as positive just about wanting to fight him," Sanchez said. "He wants physical fights, he wants hard fights, he wants guys that are respected by the public so that he could prove his mettle. [Click Here To Read More]